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Thursday, May 14, 2015

Haha sooooo....I really REALLY am bad at blogging. Last post was a year after the one before...and so is this one! What is it about May that makes me want to start blogging again? ;P

What's inspiring me to start up again? Well, I'm planning a bedroom makeover. Why? Because we moved our bedroom to another room. Why? Because...BABY!

Saturday I will be 14 weeks! I can hardly believe it, it is going so fast.

Our former bedroom was up a steep set of stairs, and I didn't really love the idea of having to climb up and down them in late pregnancy and afterwards. So we've moved into a bedroom downstairs, and I'm loving it! We moved almost everything in yesterday, now that I've finished painting. I'll get a few pictures up soon to show the color! Thanks for stoppin' by :)

Thursday, May 22, 2014

There! I said it! I'm sure you will agree, as my last post was almost a full year ago.

It's not that I hate writing, or taking pictures, or crafting, or being on the computer...but somehow it is very difficult for me to combine them all! Oh well...consider this my attempt at getting back on that horse!

So what has happened over the last year? LOTS! We just moved, again, but this time to a lovely little house. Four bedrooms, across from a park(ish), tons of storage for all my junk in the basement and garage...and a yard! Suffice to say we LOVE IT.

I also sort of started a business too. In February of this year I started renting space in a local homegoods store in our city's arts district - I'm selling decor, painted furniture, and upholstered pieces under the name of Renascence Furnishings (find me on Facebook!). That's right - I got into upholstery! I haven't been doing it for long but I think I love it. I will definitely have some tutorials for you on that (if I keep up with this!).

I had the honor of including this chair in our local Designer's Showhouse! Needless to say I was thrilled. It's a Louis XV-style chair, frame painted in American Paint Company's Limoges, upholstered in a magenta chenille, and finished with a silver rope trim.

This walnut vanity got a pretty update with royal navy blue paint (knobs were original!).

A red desk with faux leather top and original brass pulls, drawers mod podged with maps.(Inspired by this desk)

So there's a little taste of what I've been doing whilst away...I hope to be able to post more regularly on my projects to sell and for our new home. Feel free to pin, comment, or follow this blog on Facebook! And I promise to give this blogging thing the ole' college try ;)

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Today we signed the leased on our new apartment - a condo actually! We'll be moving at the end of this month. Yay!

Moving is super exciting, intimidating, and nerve-wracking all at the same time. Last time I moved, it was sort of a mess - boxes breaking apart, contents spilling everywhere...the worst part was having to dig through boxes to find one small item, because everything was jumbled together!

So this time...we're doing it right.

And I decided to chronicle the move, so that you the reader can hopefully learn from our experiences, mistakes, and my OCD tendencies. I want you to not just "get through" your move, but to make the most of it! Moving is a great time to pare down your belongings, get organized, and make a fresh new start in your new place.

Getting started can be one of the hardest parts of any project, and that definitely includes moving. If you want to do it right, don't just jump right in - you need a plan. Keep reading for some pre-packing tips!

Having a generous amount of supplies on hand before you start is extremely helpful. You will be going through plenty of packing tape, boxes, and packing paper, and running out of necessary supplies in the middle of a packing spree is never good. If you're like me, my "packing mode" switch gets flipped on and off without warning, and having all my supplies ready and waiting means I can take advantage of those times when I'm rarin' to pack.

#2 - Write out a timeline/to-do list

You can start with a standard list like this one and tailor it to your needs.

Giving yourself goals, and deadlines for those goals, is an excellent way to stay on track and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Trying to remember everything you need to do before you move is an unnecessary stress, so just write it down already! Print out your timeline and put it by the fridge or the calendar, or anywhere you'll see it daily. #3 - Start a "Giveaway box" One of the first things I did when beginning to pack was to set out a large box in the living room - the "giveaway box". As I am going through parts of the apartment, packing away the things we want to take with us, I place everything we don't want and/or need in the giveaway box. (Technically, not everything in the box is stuff we want to just give away - we will try to sell some of it.) It's much easier to stay organized when you have somewhere to put the things you no longer want, instead of letting them linger around your home. {GOLDEN TIP}The number 1 tip in all of moving tip history is to GET RID OF STUFF. Seriously, just do it. Unless you are someone who is super tidy and never lets anything into the house that you don't absolutely love or know 100% you will use.....you probably have some belongings you can part with. If you do, not only will you have less boxes to move, you will have more space in your new place, and less headaches trying to figure out where your giant breadmaker that you use once a year or your 50+ T-shirts should go. If you have some things you think are money-makers, Craigslist is always an option. A better option, I think, is to search on Facebook for a Buy/Sell/Trade group for your county/city. These groups are excellent ways to sell your possessions and avoid creepers/stalkers/murderers. Just search "[insert county/city] buy sell trade", and chances are you'll find one that works for you! {OCD TIP}Want to really start planning ahead? Get the measurements of your new place (every last detail!) and map out each room on paper - graph paper works best. You can even make little paper versions of your furniture (scaled down the same amount as your room graphs) so you can do a little pre-move layout arranging. Try it if you have the time - it is quite helpful, and pretty fun too ;) Do you have any pre-packing tips? I know you do! Please share below!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Her idea of painting the tray of the cart a fun color and the legs only a metallic really struck a chord with me. I love color and metallics paired, and that treatment would also mimic the current design of the cart. I definitely love when a makeover pays homage to the original design of a piece! (Plus, her idea is simple and cost-effective. Definitely what I was looking for!)

Blue is my favorite color, and I am loving all of the vintage-inspired shades I see around nowadays - one of those will probably be my color of choice for this cart! Want to see some inspiration photos?

This one is much more distressed than I would choose, but don't you just love it? It looks like something you'd find while trespassing in an abandoned dairy farm, or some such place.

Here's a fun and retro cart! This makes me wonder if I should paint the edge and handles of

the tray in a metallic as well...?

I could DIE over this color! In fact, I have, several times. The ratio of chipping to paint is perfect - I'm sure it could be recreated with a generous amount of Vaseline!

When I look at this 70's malachite cart, I think glam. Class. Upscale. And, well, expensive! I haven't the slightest clue how to recreate the look with paint...but isn't it just gorgeous to look at?

So tell me....

Which one is your favorite? And what shade of blue should I choose?

Thank you to everyone who entered their ideas for the contest! And thank you all for reading!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

**UPDATE - the contest has been pushed back a week, so you now have until 6/7 to submit your ideas!**I'm excited to get back on the blogging train with a contest! Everybody loves a contest, right?!

Up for grabs is a $10 gift card to your choice of either Hobby Lobby or Michael's! (I know, right? I wish I could enter!) What must you do for a chance to win this exciting prize, you ask? Read on to find out!

I bought this cart at a garage sale with the intention of using it as a coffee table. It's small, in decent shape, and will easily roll out of the way when needed. It is, however, a bit...90's office chic? (Minus the chic.) Definitely in need of a makeover. I have a few ideas of what I want to do, but I also want to hear YOUR ideas!To enter this contest, all you need to do is comment with your best design ideas for how to transform this plain Jane into the beauty she was meant to be! I will review all the entries and choose my favorite - and announce the winner one week from today. One week after that I will reveal the transformed cart, custom designed by one of you!

The winning design will be the most:- Original- Cost-effective- Detailed (Thorough info on supplies, process, etc.)- Suited to my style (for help on that, follow me on Pinterest! here and here)**RULES**- Must live in the US of A to enter (and be willing to provide address)- You may enter up to 3 separate ideas, in one or multiple comments- If multiples of the same design are entered, the first person who entered it gets dibs- Designs need not be original to you- All entries must be in by Friday, May 31st, 10:00 PM Central time- All entries must be as a comment on this post- Winner must claim his/her prize within 48 hours; after that, the winner becomes my second choice**INFO ON THE CART**- 26" long, 21" tall, 15" deep- Wood & MetalGood luck and happy designing!! :)